The New England Country Club

I'm not sure what all the whining by some reviewers is all about. I've been scared off by some of the reviews, but decided to play: one of the best layouts and challenges in the area. From the back tees, about 6600, and some long and intense par 4s make this a real gem. The greens are fantastic right now in late April, true and tough! I was completely surprised.

What I like about this course is its rustic quality, and expansive layout, as golf should be.

That said: some people complain about the tees being in bad shape. Kind of true but doesn't make much of a difference. The cart paths are terrible, but who really cares about that? The one thing that is irksome is the condition of the bunkers. Maybe they'll be better cared for after the spring rainy season, but they are in pretty bad shape and it would take only a day or so for the staff to just rake them so they aren't just flat mud or filled with rocks.

That said, I did hole out from a crappy bunker for a birdie, so maybe I should just suck it up!

Honestly, I consider this course one of the best courses for the money anywhere in Eastern MA: way better than places like Sandy Burr, Olde Scotland Links and comparably priced courses.

Staff/pro super friendly.

I played midweek and had an absolute blast. It is a challenging yet rewarding course. I was lucky enough to play with a member and boy did that help. If you don't properly manage the golf course it will punish you, but if you play it right you will be rewarded. The greens were in great shape, quick but very true. Do not leave yourself a downhill putt.

...the putter has to be working...the greens are some of the most difficult to read...with last minute breaks ...no rewards for good shots to the green...saw ball roll right off into the water with barely touching it...

Course is being prepared for the coming season with lots of trench work that will definetly pay off later in the season...the loss of one of the courses this year and another in a few years(housing) will make this one of the local courses...they are doing a GREAT job

Blind shots. Forced carries. Sloping fairways. Water hazards. If you don't want to be challenged, don't play New England Country Club! But the bonus was the smooth, fast, gorgeous greens. Very nice day. Thanks NECC!

It was our first time playing this course. I thought the layout was interesting and had some very challenging holes for playing it for the first time. We should have purchased a yardage book. 3rd old do not hit the left side of green have to be right side to hold green. Greens were fast, tee boxes need a lot of TLC.

If you're a young man and want to have children, drive your cart in the rough and not on the paths. The paths are dangerous and will crush your balls. I don't think they have the money to fix them. The greens are very nice but outshined by tees boxes which are a disaster - I don't understand how a course with such excellent greens can have such poor tee boxes. If you play the course once, you'll want to play it again because there are so many tricky shots. For example, an approach on the left side of the 3rd green will not hold and will go in the water.

A 15 handicap could take 7 stokes of their score playing this course a second time.

A big negative is the starters - there are all jerks and seem to be hired to make the start of your round miserable. They love to rush groups to the 1st tee before they are ready.

Another negative is that there is never a ranger - one slow group can ruin the entire day for many groups.

All-in-all, a great layout but there is a lot of stuff you have to overlook to have a good day.

Great value, course in great shape tee boxes need a lot of work. Staff friendly and helpful. Hot day playing absolutely no water on the course

Course itself is a nice challenging track with some forced carries which is fine

Has some strange routing for an unfamiliar group

And shots that were misplayed due to not realizing trouble ahead

Signage could be improved

Main complaint which superceeds everything is traveling a fairly long distance and arriving twenty minutes early and being told that we have to make the turn in 1.5 hours or we ( a foursome with 2 other players from Pawtucket R.I. ) would have to wait for the scheduled leagues to get off. In trying to discuss this with the starter he stated that he thinks GN shouldn't be booking that time and the guys from RI were equally upset.

Arrived at 2:00 for a 2:20 tee time was told we should never have been allowed to book this tee time by starter but we should be all right if we get to the the 10th hole by 3:50 which we did but he had already sent off 4 foursome off the back that we were stuck behind the whole back nine and he blamed GN for booking those times?

Somehow I end up playing this course about once a year and the one thing I can tell you were playing at this year was the greens are the fastest I've seen them ever. The course was in good to very good condition and the layout is enjoyable especially for shorter hitters. There aren't a ton of holes where you have to take out the driver and use it. But be careful heading into the greens as they are firm and be very careful putting. On a sidenote I heard from a couple of members that the course is been sold, though it will be open next year after that the future is uncertain. I have heard that the owners are going to put condos on the first hole and the driving range so I presume they could find space to replace hole number one but I'm not sure they could replace the driving range which would effect my wanting to play there

90210 is the zip code for Beverley Hills, California and New England CC could be Bellingham Hills. Lots of ups and downs to this beautiful Hale Irwin designed golf course. If you like elevation changes this one is for you. It's 18 different, interesting and challenging holes that will test every golfer to use every club in the bag, especially if you play the back blue tees. It was raining so hard coming down 495 that the wiper blades couldn't keep up, so I thought I wouldn't even get to play NECC today. The sun came out when I found the course I had wanted to play for many years and the round was completed in about 3 1/2 hours with just a few sprinkles from 15 on in. Even with the wet conditions the big, beautiful, still plenty fast greens were a pure pleasure to putt on. When I play here again, which I will, I wonder how fast these greens will be when dry ? NECC is a challenge from any of the 4 sets of tees. All kinds of decisions have to be made from the tee shot, approach shots and of course the short ones around the sloping swails and undulations of the greens. Deep bunkers, well placed water and forced carry hazards and interesting rock walls and formations can be found all over this wonderful course. It's 65 miles from Burlington to NECC, not exactly down the street, but well worth the trip I will make again. I recommend you make the journey from wherever you live. You won't be disappointed with a round you'll remember.

Lack of rangers and agonizingly slow play made an otherwise perfect round much less than that. No course personnel to encourage playing it forward even though there were gaps no one was encouraging the pokeys to move along!!!

I've played here before, last year. However I forgot the course, so it was like playing a new course all over again. Slopping fairways, with slopping greens, made it challenging. Course management is integral to playing this course, keep the ball in play, play to the lower slope on the greens play the ball upward. Miss the hole by a rim shot you can still be playing 10 - 12 foot put. Best to just sink the putt. ::))

Fantastic challenging course layout, you have to think before you select you club on every hole of the tea & fairway, must play again for sure!!

This course isn't going to blow you away with breathtaking scenery. It's a golfer's course, fair but punitive if you take it lightly. The fairways and greens are in very good shape. However, the surrounding landscape could use a tune up. Only a couple holes feel like an afterthought, the rest are creative and engaging.